Unlike some previous guitar synths, the tracking of the VG-88 is flawless. It's possible to rip up and down most of the synth patches with the same speed and accuracy as a regular electric plugged into an amp. Finger vibrato, bent notes, and whammy bar techniques also work just fine with the VG-88.
And that's the trade-off for the VG-88 synth patches. While the sounds that today's keyboard synthesizers are capable of have move far beyond these tones, these are all great, usable patches, perfect for the musician who's more capable on guitar than he is on keyboard. (Err, like me!) For recording, one obvious possibility would be to use a modern keyboard synth interface (or Roland's GI-20 MIDI guitar to USB interface) to play lush chords via the more harmonically complex software synths available today, and play the lead parts via one of the VG-88 patches.
While the VG-88's built-in tuner is no replacement for the precision of a strobe-style tuner such as Peterson's Virtual Strobe, it's certainly a useful feature, particularly for live playing.
England's Sound On Sound magazine once dubbed the aesthetics of the VG-88's black metal case as a cross between a doorstop and the Stealth Bomber, which seems apt. Its patches are designed to be easily switched via foot pedals, thus making it easy for the gigging guitarist to change tones between songs, or if necessary, during a song. There's a larger foot pedal on the right of the unit that depending upon the patch, will typically act as a volume pedal or wah-wah. On a few patches, it controls the speed of the Leslie or Tremolo effect, and on at least one patch, rocking it back and forth raises and lowers the guitar's pitch over an octave. There's loads of fun Van Halen-style dive-bomb tricks in this patch, and you don't even need to route your guitar for a Floyd Rose!
Is It Perfect? Err, No
Are there downsides to the VG-88? As I said, a few of the presets sound awfully cheesy. And a number of them come from the factory smothered in reverb, perhaps to make beginning guitarists sound their best when they demo the unit in the music store, much like television sets usually have their brightness cranked waaaaay up to look good on the showroom floor. But that's easy enough to dial back.
Article comments
1 - Darren
It is interesting to see a review for an item that is nearly four years old, but it is a misnomer to call the VG-88 (or its predecessor, the VG-8), a guitar synth. It is in fact a guitar modeller and not a synth at all. For guitar synths, check out the GR range, such as the GR-33 and the GR-20. Sorry to be a pedant. ;-)
2 - Mark Saleski
i have a GR-50, though when i bought i the outboard pickup wasn't using midi, but some proprietary Roland signals.
works pretty well, though doesn't track nearly as well as this thing supposedly does.
3 - Connie Phillips
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